Book-holder



(No Model.)

H.BLAKE.

BOOK HOLDER.

No 375,723. Patented Jan. 8, 1888.

III n 1 ll, il ll. I 6 Ill 'll II .lll. V

IIIII llNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HIRAM BLAKE, OF KEENE, NE\V HAMPSHIRE.

BOOK-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,? 23, dated January 3, 1858. Applicaion filed June 8, 1887. Serial No. 240,677. (No modcll To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HIRAM BLAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Keene, in the county of Cheshire and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book-Holders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the let.- ters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of bookholders having a stand on which is mounted a casing or holder for the reception of the book, which, together with the book, may be opened or closed, as desired; and the objects of myinvention are, first, to produce a book-holder which shall be strong, durable, and steady in its operation and not liable to get out of order; second, by which the book may be opened or closed with the casing, and when closed shall hold the book closely together, so as to exclude dust from the leaves; and, third, to utilize the stand which supports the casing by arranging shelves therein for the reception of more booksor other articles, as may be desired. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my bookholder, showing all its parts. Fig. 2 is a section oft-he casing, showingthe lug-straps which support the book therein and the manner in which the wings are attached to the upright springstandards. Fig. 3 is a section showing the connecting strap and stop-hinge by means of which the wings of the book-holder are kept in their proper position. Fig. t is a section showing the manner in which the wings of the casing are attached to the upright springs.

Similar letters refer to similar parts through -1 out the several views.

The casing A, or book-holder proper, is composed of two'parts or wings, I) b, so arranged as to be opened or shut in the manner of a book. They are made of boards having an area a little larger than the sides of the book to be placed therein. On each end of these wings are attached the slats c c c a, partly for the purpose of holding the book in position upon the casing when the same is opened or shut. These slats may be ornamental or plain, as desired. \Vhen adjusted to the stand or frame, these wings, when open, are brought closely together, so as to form a plane surface or table on which the book may rest, as shown in the drawings.

The casing A is mounted on four upright spring rods or standards, d d d (I, each wing of the casing being hinged or journaled at the sides next their points of contact to the tops of said standards at the points 6 e e e. By this arrangement the casing may be opened or closed, as desired. When the casing is closed, the wings come together at the top and open at the bottom of a width equal to the thickness of the book. The book is held within the cats ing by means of the lugstraps F, passing across the floor of the wings and the opening at the bottom ofthe casing, as shown in Fig. 2. These are made of suitable webbing, and extending across the inner surface of the casing, they furnish a convenient rest or cushion for the book. The slats c c on each wing next their points of contact are rounded, so as to form the segment of a circle; and while the wings are being opened or closed they roll evenly and smoothly on these segments.

The upright standards (Z d d (I may be made of elastic wood or metal, and are grounded or attired in the shelf G, as shown. When the casing A is mounted on these standards, the tops thereof are strained apart, so as to give them a spring tension sufficient to press the wings firmly together, and thus these wings, whether open or shut, are always bound to gether by means of these spring-standards. The utility of these springstandards is increased by the manner in which they are attached to thewings of the casing, as herein after described.

The segments of the circle on the wing-slats c 0 have their true centers at the point h, as shown in Fig. 4,while the bearings are placed at the point 0, having its segment passing through the dotted line ij. By thus placing the bearing above its true center the pressure of the sp ringstandards is increased on the up per portion of the casing, where it is most needed to keep the book tightly closed, so as to exclude dust from the leaves. By the em- ICO ployment of the nonconcentrie bearing 6 the segment having its center at It extends beyond the segment 73 This feature causes the wings of the casing to spread at the proper moment while they are lifting the book from the lugstraps F, thus causing the book and casing to open with an elastic yet steady movement. It is also apparent that whenever the segments pass the points k, in opening or closing the easing, they pass down an incline, and hence the tension of the springs automatically performs the opening or closing after the segments have passed the point k.

In order to confine the wings of the easing together,'so they shall not slip, but open and shut simultaneously, I employ the straphinge Zm, as shown in Fig. 3. This consists of a spring-tempered metallic strap passing between and over thetangent surfaces of the wings. One end of this strap is attached to each wing, so as to fit snugly to the surfaces of the segment, as shown. \Vhen one wing only is moved upward or downward, this strapcarries the other with it, thus making their movements uniform and simultaneous.

When the casing is open and the wings on a plane with each other, they are kept from being turned farther downward by means of the stop-hinge n. This consists of two metal sheets linked together at one end of each,while the opposite ends are movably attached to the upper part ofthe wing-slats, as shown. WVhen the casing is closed, these links contract by dropping downward. \Vhen the casing is open, the link is extended, so that the wings can be opened no farther.

The stand or frame 0, on which the casing is mounted, is preferably constructed of four vertical legs or standards,ofthe desired length, passing through the shelves at or near their corners, as shown. In the upper shelf, G, near each end thereof, the upright spring standards are firmly affixed, and the stand 0 furnishesa suitable base for the support ofthe casing when a heavy book is placed therein. Its shelves also'furnish convenient receptacles for a number of books. I do not, however, confine myself strictly to this form of stand, but one shelf only may be employed supported by four legs,

in the manner of an ordinary table or stand. J

rounded at their points of contact with each.

other, so as to form a segmental joint on which the wings move while being opened or closed, and provided with a connecting-strap attached to each slat of said wings, and a stop-hinge connecting, said wings together, and further providedwith a lug-strap to hold the book within the casing,which casing is mounted or pivoted on four upright spring-standards affixed to a frame or stand, all constructed and operating substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a book-holder constructed substantially as herein shown, the stophinge n, having a pivotal joint at its center and pivot-ally attached at each end to the wings of the casing, in combination with the casing A,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The casing A, composed oftwo wings pro vided with slats or sides on each end and rounded at their meeting ends into segments ofa circle, and further provided with the stophinge n, connecting-strapl m, lug-straps F, non-concentric bearings e e e e, in combination with the upright spring-standards d d d d, and stand 0, all constructed to operate substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HIRAM BLAKE.

\Vitnesses:

ADOLPH IREssLER, J. It. BEAL. 

